Patent Application
20080095906
Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferred compositions, embodiments and methods of the present invention, which constitute the best modes of practicing the invention presently known to the inventors. The Figures are not necessarily to scale. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for any aspect of the invention and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Except in the examples, or where otherwise expressly indicated, all numerical quantities in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word “about” in describing the broadest scope of the invention. Practice within the numerical limits stated is generally preferred. Also, unless expressly stated to the contrary: percent, “parts of,” and ratio values are by weight; the term “polymer” includes “oligomer,” “copolymer,” “terpolymer,” and the like; the description of a group or class of materials as suitable or preferred for a given purpose in connection with the invention implies that mixtures of any two or more of the members of the group or class are equally suitable or preferred; description of constituents in chemical terms refer to the constituents at the time of addition to any combination specified in the description, and does not necessarily preclude chemical interactions among the constituents of a mixture once mixed; the first definition of an acronym or other abbreviation applies to all subsequent uses herein of the same abbreviation and applies mutatis mutandis to normal grammatical variations of the initially defined abbreviation; and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, measurement of a property is determined by the same technique as previously or later referenced for the same property.
It is also to be understood that this invention is not limited to the specific embodiments and methods described below, as specific components and/or conditions may, of course, vary. Furthermore, the terminology used herein is used only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limiting in any way.
It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular form “a”, “an”, and “the” comprise plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, reference to a component in the singular is intended to comprise a plurality of components.
Throughout this application, where publications are referenced, the disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.
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In a variation of the present embodiment, the flavor precursor is distributed as a thin film while resident in reaction chamber 12. In such variations, reaction chamber 12 is a thin film evaporator that allows transition of the flavor precursor to the gaseous phase. Examples of useful thin film evaporators are the Rototherm® Thin Film Evaporator commercially available from Artison Industries, Inc. If necessary, these evaporators may be modified by closing off the vapor vent that would normally remove vapors while concentrating, and by replacing the heat exchange medium which is normally a heat transfer fluid with an electric resistance heater. A specific thin film evaporator is the Artison Rototherm® E which is a 1 square foot (heating surface) heat centrifugally-wiped exchanger. In a refinement of this variation, the thickness of this thin film has a thickness less than or equal to about 0.0625 inches. In other variations, the phase transition to a gaseous state is performed in a phase change by a falling film evaporator or a scraped surface heat exchanger. In another refinement of this variation, the thickness of the thin film is from about 0.0312 to about 0.0625 inches. The distribution of the flavor precursor composition into a thin film assists in vaporization. Both the first and second precursor compositions are at least partially vaporized while present in reactor 12. In a variation, the flavor precursor is resident in reaction chamber 12 for a period less than or equal to 20 minutes. In another variation, the flavor precursor is resident in reaction chamber 12 for a period less than or equal to 2 minutes. In yet another variation, the flavor precursor is present in reaction chamber 12 for a period of time less than about 90 seconds. In still another variation, the flavor precursor is resident in reaction chamber 12 for a period from about 15 to about 20 minutes. During this retention time, the fat phase and the aqueous phase will be elevated in temperature by the heat exchanger in the presence of air, the fat being charged in such a manner that the initial liquid phase exists in a very minor percent of the total time in the rototherm, typically less than 20 seconds. In one variaiton, the hot film will be rapidly vaporized with vaporization commencing at above 600° F. In another variation, the hot film is heated at a temperature of not more than 180° C. for 15 minutes or less. This latter variation is particularly useful when the film includes amino acids and reducing sugars.
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In at least some processes set forth above, the temperature of the precursor composition will eventually exceed the surface temperature of the heat exchanger itself. Thus, as indicated previously the minimum heat exchange surface temperature will be in excess of 200° F. measured at the heat exchanger surface and, in a relevantly brief period of time, the exothermic liberation of heat results in a temperature increase of the precursor compositions (generally about 50° F.) with regard to the temperature of the heating surface. A range of 40° F. to 75° F. above the temperature of the heat exchange surface being achieved in some cases.
As set forth above, in some variations the first precursor composition includes a fat medium. The fat medium comprises an animal fat, a dairy fat, vegetable fat, a lipolyzed fat, oil soluble materials, and combinations thereof. Suitable animal fats include beef fat, chicken fat or fish oil. The vegetable fat is typically a vegetable oil fatty ester shortening composition selected from vegetable oils including oleic acid oils, linolenic acid oils and erucic acid oils, such as cottonseed oil, peanut oil, sesame seed oil, corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, rapeseed oil and other edible oilseed oils, and mixtures thereof. In addition, the term vegetable oil fatty ester shortening compositions as used herein includes oils such as polyol fatty acid esters including polyglycerol fatty acid esters and sugar fatty acid esters. Examples of dairy fats include butter, cream, and the like. The specific fat medium utilized will vary the character of the resultant meat flavoring composition. For example, oleic acid is preferred for achieving a strong beef-like character, while linoleic acid provides a roasted chicken or fish character.
As set forth above, the second precursor composition includes an aqueous composition. Suitable ingredients that may be present in the aqueous composition include, but are not limited to, amino acids, reducing sugars, and combinations thereof. The amino acids may be a single amino acid which is specifically associated with the desired meat flavoring composition, a mixture of various amino acids or a protein hydrolysate. Sulfur-containing amino acids such as cysteine, cystine, methionine, glutathione, 2-amino-ethane sulfonic acid or their salts, and the like, are particularly useful. Specific examples of useful amino acids include, but are not limited to, L-cysteine, L-proline, L-methionine, serine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and combinations therof. The reducing sugar may be a mono-, di-, or oligo-saccharide, such as xylose, fructose, etc. Specific examples of useful reducing sugars include, but are not limited to, D-xylose, D-ribose, fructose, D-glucose, and combinations thereof.
The first and second precursor composition can each independently include additional flavoring components. Examples of such additional flavoring components include, but are not limited to, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and combinations thereof. Moreover, the first and second precursor compositions optionally include other additives such as thiamine HCl, ascorbic acid, onion juice abstract, garlic juice extract, and combinations thereof.
The following examples illustrate the various embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize many variations that are within the spirit of the present invention and scope of the claims.
An aqueous reactant solution is prepared by dissolving L-cysteine and D-xylose in diluted liquid soy sauce at the following percentages: 4.5% L-cysteine, 6.7% D-xylose, 22.2% liquid soy sauce, and 66.6% water. A modified thin film evaporator is heated to about 300° F. A stream of sunflower oil is introduced into the thin film evaporator at 30 lb/hr while the aqueous solution prepared above is introduced into the processor at 5.3 lb/hr. The ratio of the oil/aqueous solution is kept at 85/15. The mixture is mixed vigorously with a scrap surface mixer at a speed of at least 300 rpm to form a film on the inner surface of the thin film evaporator. The mixture is reacted for about 2 minutes before exiting the thin film evaporator. The liquid flavor is then cooled through a serial of jacketed cooling tubes to 160° F. Sensory evaluation of 0.25% of the flavor in 0.5% salt solution reveals that the flavor has a good balance of savory, chicken and slightly roasted sesame characteristics.
A stream of vegetable oil is introduced into a modified thin film evaporator at 35 lb/hr and heated to about 680° F. for 20 sec to 1 minute with or without the addition of air. The liquid is then cooled to 200° F. The resultant oil possesses fatty, charbroil flavor characteristics.
A stream of aqueous flavor precursor system is fed into a modified thin film evaporator at 21 lb/hr. With the mixer running at 300 rpm, the precursor system is heated to 250° F. for about 2 minutes. The mixture consists of L-proline 5.10% L-cysteine 1.19% L-methionine 0.34% D-ribose 1.19% Glycerol 15.00% Water 77.18%, After the process, the resultant mixture is then cooled to 160° F. and collected. The resultant product has a strong beefy, brothy and vegetable flavor characteristic.
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
